1. Technical Field
The embodiments herein generally relate to medical devices and assemblies, and more particularly to an orthopedic surgical implant assembly used in the field of surgical lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine treatment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surgical procedures treating spinal injuries are one of the most complex and challenging surgeries for both the patient and the surgeon. When there are various deformities, trauma, or fractures of the vertebra, surgeons may attempt to “fuse” them together by attaching screw-like devices into the pedicles of the spine and thereby connecting several vertebrae (typically two or more) using a semi-rigid rod. However, due to the complexity of the human anatomy, most surgeons must bend the rod (causing notches thereby reducing fatigue resistance) before placing them into two or more non-aligned pedicle screws in order to properly stabilize the pedicle screw assembly within the patient's body.
Additionally, most conventional top loading pedicle screws do not allow for a screw head to be tensioned in a given zone or range of angulations from the fixed bone anchor (i.e., bone screw). Consequentially, most conventional solutions use the rod portion of the system to provide the dynamism. Generally, most artificial discs currently being marketed do not typically offer any resistance at the extreme ranges of motion, and others tend to offer a “dead stop” that may cause implant failure or implant dislodging. As such, most surgeons would concede that the removal of a failed artificial disc is an extremely undesirable event that is laced with major complications. Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved pedicle screw assembly that allows the screw head to be tensioned in a given zone or range of angulations from the fixed bone anchor.